


you ruin me

by sophh



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Extramarital Affairs, F/M, Heartbreak, Implied/Referenced Cheating, POV Male Character, POV Oliver Wood, vague references to sexual activity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:14:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27201623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophh/pseuds/sophh
Summary: Oliver wasn't sure when his lust had turned to love, but he could no longer deny that it had. Written for HP Sudsfest 2020.
Relationships: Fleur Delacour/Oliver Wood
Comments: 8
Kudos: 6
Collections: HP Suds Fest 2020





	you ruin me

**Author's Note:**

> This piece really pushed me outside of my comfort zone in a lot of ways, but overall I am quite pleased with the result. (That's a lie, I hate this, lol.)
> 
> Beta-read by my love. Sorry to make you read my weird writing about characters you don't know anything about. :P
> 
> Prompt: A and B are secret lovers, both of whom are married to other people. They have families and children, so neither are in a position to leave their spouses. This will be an angsty story or art- A watches B showering or bathing as they prepare to go back to their family, as they always do, and they feel heartbroken.

Rivulets of water ran down her body, following every curve, every peak and valley of flesh. Oliver watched as she picked up a baby blue washcloth and a bar of white soap that made her skin look less pale than it really was. She rubbed the washcloth against the soap, working up a lather, then set the soap down so that she could glide the washcloth across her body. It should have been comforting, this ritual — she did it every week. And yet, for Oliver, it wasn't. 

In truth, the very sound of the water running was making his heart clench painfully, but it was the sight of her showering that truly did him in. She looked so relaxed, so peaceful. How was it that she showed no signs of turmoil or anguish? Her deep blue eyes fluttered shut as she tilted her head back and threaded her fingers through her long, silvery hair. It was all Oliver could do to remain seated on the edge of the bed — to not join her like he so desperately wanted to.

* * *

_"Oliver, this is Fleur," Percy said, nodding at a beautiful, petite woman with silver-blonde locks. "Bill's girlfriend."_

_Dark blue eyes fixed on Oliver, and in that moment, he knew that he was in trouble. He barely heard Percy explaining that Oliver was there as his guest, too preoccupied with the sudden pounding of his heart._

_"It's a pleasure to meet you,_ Olivier _," Bill's Girlfriend — it was best if he called her that in his head, wasn't it, to remind himself that she was taken? — said, extending her hand. Oliver hesitated for a brief moment before shaking it, wondering if she felt the same jolt of electricity pass through her fingers at his touch._

_"It's a pleasure to meet you too," he said._

* * *

Oliver looked away from the captivating sight to scrub at his face. There was no use prolonging her inevitable departure. Fleur had a family to get back to — her red-haired husband and two young kids. He was careful to never ask about them, for fear that it might serve as a reminder of what she was risking, but he caught enough snippets from Percy. 

Of course, she never asked about Oliver's family either, and he was fine with that. He didn't like to dwell on his loveless marriage or the mistake that he had made in staying for his daughter. He had married Katie Bell soon after Hogwarts, but quickly regretted it. For a man who had always been married to Quidditch, it hadn't made sense for him to settle down so soon. And yet, for Oliver, marrying Katie had felt like an expectation — an obligation, even.

* * *

_"Oliver," Katie said soberly, taking his hands in hers, "I'm...pregnant."_

_Oliver swallowed hard, fighting to keep the panic from showing on his face. Just when he was gathering up the courage to leave his wife, his fantasies were cut short. He couldn't abandon his unborn child — he had been raised better than that._

_"That's wonderful," he croaked, hoping that the instability in his voice would be mistaken for sheer happiness. "Wow."_

_He didn't say anything more, but Katie didn't seem to notice. She beamed down at her stomach before leaning in to kiss him. Oliver tried to inject some passion into it, but it felt like he was scrambling for purchase in an unknown terrain — desperately trying to hold on to something that was no longer there._

* * *

Fleur was humming now, drawing Oliver's gaze to her once more. He briefly wondered if it was some sort of French song, then decided that it probably was. She loved all things French, though how he knew this, he couldn't quite say. They weren't prone to talking much, instead using their stolen time to discover all the ways their bodies fit together perfectly. Oliver never minded until it came time for his mistress to leave — then he was left to watch her rinse away his scent, wishing that she would choose to stay. 

He wasn't sure when his lust had turned to love, but he could no longer deny that it had. She was the first thing he thought about in the morning and the last thing on his mind when he went to sleep. Even little things throughout his day would trigger a memory of her — the curve of a woman's lips, a silky giggle. He began to look forward to their weekly trysts, to the time when he could be hers, even if just for an hour or two. 

* * *

_"I love you," Oliver murmured, lost in a post-coital haze. He felt Fleur stiffen beside him and he immediately wished that he could shove the words back into his mouth where they so clearly belonged._

_The silence stretched between them, an abyss that could not be mended by more talking. Oliver couldn't pretend that he hadn't said anything, but he couldn't pretend that he didn't mean it, either._

_Fleur stood and stretched, turning her back on him to do so. "I should wash up," she said over her shoulder._

_Oliver tried to pretend that his heart wasn't splintering into pieces as she walked towards the bathroom._

* * *

Fleur stepped out of the shower and shrouded herself in a fluffy grey towel. She continued to hum as she pulled a comb through her tresses, seemingly unaware of the longing in Oliver's eyes. She would never be his, not fully. And yet, he wished that she would at least acknowledge the effect she had on him. 

The swipe of lipstick she applied to her lips made him see red. She would return to Shell Cottage and reunite with her family, while he would be left to pick up the shattered pieces of his heart. It wasn't fair. It would _never_ be fair. He was just going to have to settle for the version of her that slipped underneath the sheets with him — a pale imitation of the woman that he knew she could be. 

"I love you, but you are not mine," he whispered, his hands curling into fists at his sides. 


End file.
